Luke's Blessing

The parties just keep on coming. On Sunday, June 22nd, we blessed Luke. Dave blessed him and we were lucky to have so many of our family members there with us. Grandpa Reed, Grandpa Robert, Jack, Brady, John, Matt, Jesse, Dan, and Matt McPhee were all able to help with the blessing. It is times like this when I am so glad we live so close to our families. Robert and Richard Gardner also came. After church, we had lunch at our house. I love opening our home up to everyone. When we blessed Sam, we had a lunch at my mom's house because our apartment was just too tiny to handle a crowd.

Luke wore the same blessing outfit that Dave wore. Dave's mom found it when she moved last year. I had forgotten about it and I had spent a whole day dragging the boys around shopping for a blessing outfit for Luke. When I proudly showed it to Dave, he asked why we just couldn't have used his blessing outfit. Dave found it for me and after some serious washing and stretching, it was ready for Luke. We had to take out a tuck that Paula had added and stretch it like crazy to fit our big boy. It is good we didn't wait any longer or it wouldn't have fit. I think Luke looked so handsome, and I love to think that Dave wore that same outfit. It also makes me realize how fast a little baby boy grows into a man.

We are so lucky to have Luke in our family. I worried how we would add one more member to our family, but now I can't even imagine not having Luke. He is so happy and always has a smile to share. What a blessing he is to us.

Sam turns 3 (or 14 if you ask him) & Fathers' Day

We got home from our trip on Saturday just in time to celbrate Sam's birthday on Sunday. Saturday night Dave and I took the boys to Grandma Paula's to play while we did some last minute birthday shopping. We got Sam a wading pool, pool toys, and his very own fishing pole. Our last stop was to pick up a special tractor birthday cake. We picked up the boys and Sam climbed into the truck first. After I got Luke settled I saw that Sam found already found his tractor cake. He had the box open and his hands and mouth were already covered in frosting. he said, "Look Mom, I found a tractor cake! But I needed to make a road for it to drive on." Lucky for us Sam had the engineering skills to build a road for that tractor. I figured it is his cake, he can do what he wants. So, you may notice the lovely road work in the pictures.

California here we come!

For Liz's graduation from Vet school, she wanted a trip to Disneyland with the whole family. Dad decided to turn the trip into a Family Reunion for his whole family. Plans were made before I even knew I was pregnant with Luke. I wasn't sure we would be up to the trip with a brand new baby, but I decided to try it. I am glad we went. The boys were very good travelers. We took Dave's new "Monster Truck" and were thankful for the extra leg room and cargo room. It is unbelievable how much baggage we took along. It seems that the smaller the person, the more gear they need.

We spent the first night at Mom and Dad's home in St. George, and then we headed to Cali in a caravan of 4 cars. I can't believe how well the boys traveled. Luke slept most of the time and really only needed one feeding stop. Sam was happy to watch DVD's and he persuaded his Aunt "Wiz" to sit by him most of the drive. What a lucky boy.

We stayed in a beautiful Marriott Condo in Newport Beach. We had two condos next to each other for the whole clan. The marriott had 3 great swimming pools and was set up so perfectly for families. We discovered a Trader Joe's not far away, so we found all the specialty ingredients for some wonderful gourmet meals, which was much easier than eating out with the kids. We spend a day at Disneyland, a day boogie boarding at the beach, and the rest of the days relaxing by the pool and hanging out.

One night we had an official family reunion BBQ. Uncle Bud, Steven, and Michael and all of the Marcussens were all there. After dinner we all sat around a beautiful fire pit overlooking the ocean and shared memories of Grandma and Grandpa Frampton. I loved my Grandma Frampton so much and at times I am sad that she never got to meet Dave or my Sam and Luke. I know she would have loved Dave and I wish that she could have taught my boys all the songs and games she taught me. When I first had Sam I was surprised at how many songs came back to me during those long nights as I tried to rock and sing Sam to sleep. At times I think I feel Grandma nearby as I sing and play with my boys the way she did with me. I never knew my Grandpa Frampton, but I felt I got a little glimpse of who he was as the Marcussens and Steven and Michael shared some of their memories of him.

Our little family drove home a day sooner than the rest of the family so that we could be home in time for Sam's birthday and have a day to relax before I had to go back to work. We missed Aunt Liz, but the boys still were great travelers. Maybe someday all the Esplin boys can drive a big rig across the country and live out Dave's life long dream of being a truck driver. We spent a night in St. George again and loved having one more day of swimming before our vacation ended. Traveling with kids definately is a whole different kind of vacation, but I am so glad we went.

May

Mothers' Day

Memorial Day

April showers

We spent most of April inside hiding from the cold rainy weather.

32 years young

Dave celebrated his 32nd birthday on March 27th, exactly one week after Luke was born. I hadn't planned much for his party with all the excitement of Luke's unexpected arrival, but Liz and Mom helped me surprise him. Mom watched Luke for me while Liz took me shopping. I was pretty drugged up still, but I managed to go to two stores and found some great presents for Dave. Then Mom and Liz made a Mexican Fiesta birthday dinner and a birthday cake. We're so lucky we have such good helpers in our family.

We then had all the Esplin family over for birthday cake on Sunday. Thanks to Grandma Paula for providing the cake.

Luke William Esplin

Luke William Esplin arrived on March 20, 2008. He surprised us a bit by coming two weeks early. I thought that the one good thing about having a second C-section is that I could plan exactly when to have the baby. Well, Luke didn't think that April 1st was an appropriate birthday. Dave said it would be bad to have an April Fools baby, and I guess Luke agreed with him. Even though I wasn't really ready for him, it was kind of nice not to have to wait any longer and have the last minute worry and anxiety.

Luke arrived at 12:30pm. He weighed 6 lbs and 7 oz and was 19.5 inches long. He was bald on top with a ring of brown hair all around the edges. His haircut and those Esplin lips really made him look like his Grandpa Reed. He was just such a tiny little peanut! He screamed like crazy when he was first delivered, but then his happy side came out. He smiled at me the first time I held him, and he has been a happy little guy ever since.

I got to come home with Luke on Easter Sunday. The hospital volunteers made him the sweetest little Easter Egg sleeping bag to send him home. He's the best Easter Egg I've ever found.